Families seeking mental health support for children are beset on all sides by challenges, whether it's difficulty finding the right kind of help or finding out there is no help within 50 miles. Parents who are uninsured, on Medi-Cal or have commercial insurance face unique problems.
This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Kerry Klein, a participant in the USC Center for Health Journalism's 2018 Data Fellowship.
Other stories in this series include:
It Used To Be Kern County's Opioid Epicenter, But Oildale May Be Cleaning Up
A new study out this week shows the economic costs of untreated mood and anxiety disorders among moms exceeds $14 billion dollars through the first five years of a child's life.
"Ashanti Jones’ story was so overwhelming it made me cry during the interview — a first in my four-decade career," writes broadcast reporter Michael Hill.
Ashley wanted the abuse to stop. But Butch, her adoptive father, was always around.
I met Ashley for the first time in March 2015 at a Noodles & Company in Indianapolis. Her adoptive father Craig Peterson had arranged the meeting. He initially reached out to me about an article I'd written, then shared bits of Ashley's story.
Ashley stepped out of Sandy’s red-and-white van. The 10-year-old didn’t say a word, didn’t glance back at Sandy, her adoptive mother. And she refused to meet the hazel eyes of the man waiting in front of her.
This is Part 2 of a five-part series was produced as a project for the 2017 National Fellowship.
Other stories in this series include:
Ashley would be exploited, abused and, ultimately, abandoned by people who said they cared about her. And her invisible wounds would persist for decades.
This story is part of a series called In Recovery, about opioid addiction and treatment in the San Joaquin Valley.
